City's Two-Day Earthquake Preparedness Exercise Starts Friday

It’s not a question of if a major earthquake will hit the Bay Area; it’s a question of when.

Thursday’s 4.2 and 3.9 magnitude earthquakes in Berkeley serves as a reminder that all Californians need to be prepared for the next big disaster, said Miguel Grey, Santa Clara County Fire Department senior emergency services coordinator. 

Coincidentally, Cupertino is among six cities in the area this weekend testing their earthquake emergency response systems. 

Today marks the start of a two-day comprehensive emergency response exercise in Cupertino, Campbell, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and Los Altos Hills.  

Though participation varies, Cupertino is one of four cities activating their Emergency Operations Centers (EOC) today and Saturday, Grey said.

During the two-day exercise Cupertino is asking residents “to voluntarily simulate loss of electricity, water, and Internet for two hours,” and go visit their local area resource center, according to an exercise press release.

Residents are also encouraged to prepare an emergency kit for their pets, as first responders have reported the tendency of some residents to overlook their animals in emergency situations.  

A combination of volunteer and official city emergency response teams will also randomly simulate various emergency scenarios and role-play how to respond.

“An earthquake could happen at any second,” said Capt. Carl Neusel, chief of the West Valley Division of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.

Neusel stressed the importance of random simulations because it forces response teams to think quickly and to adapt. “The more practice we get,” he said, “the better we will operate together in a real emergency.”  

The in-the-field volunteer response teams make up one of two major components of the exercise, Grey said. The second is the interaction between city EOCs.

In the event of a real disaster West Valley communities would rely on their EOCs to communicate information and share resources.

These systems will be activated today and coordinate several tasks to test their capabilities.  

But it’s the robust role of community volunteers that make Cupertino’s emergency response system work, said Rick Kitson, Cupertino public and environment affairs director.

Volunteers not only supplement traditional first responders but also help to reduce city costs on an exercise this size.

“Cupertino is unique in that we have a very active and very empowered volunteer base,” Kitson said. “These groups are integral to our ability to respond to emergencies.”

The goal of the exercise this weekend is to familiarize residents with their area resource center and to “make sure as much as possible that people know what to do and how to help their neighbors in an emergency,” Kitson said. “The one thing we cannot be is surprised.” 

Cupertino released an iPhone app called “Ready 95014” Friday that has safety information built in for emergency situations when coverage is unavailable.

The city’s community channel (Comcast Channel 26 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99) will broadcast “important emergency information related to the exercise” from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Radio Cupertino (1670 AM) will broadcast emergency announcements.

As for how well Cupertino is prepared for the next disaster earthquake, Grey said, “We’re definitely headed in the right direction.”